Madeline Capstick

EXPLORING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF ACADEMIC COACHING FOR ACADEMICALLY AT-RISK COLLEGE STUDENTS

ABSTRACT: The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of the Academic Coaching for Excellence (ACE) program for academically at-risk students over the course of five academic semesters from Spring 2015 to Spring 2017. The study utilized archival data from 1,400 undergraduate students using a cohort-based, nonequivalent groups post-tests design. The students were on “academic warning”, meaning they had fallen below a 2.00 GPA in the previous academic semester and were within their first 59 credit hours of college. Results from the study found that full- and part-time students who participated in academic coaching had significant GPA increases, were more likely to earn at least a 2.00 GPA in the intervention semester, completed 76-100% of course credit hours, and were more likely to be retained at the university the following semester if they had attended five or more coaching sessions. Significant findings draw attention to Federal Pell Grant recipients and full-time traditional age (under 25 years old) student’s academic success and persistence, as these students were found to have lower GPAs and complete fewer course credits compared to their non-Pell Grant and non-traditional full-time student (25 years or over) counterparts. The number of sessions that students attended was also significant for students’ academic performance and persistence in course completion. Implications are discussed for higher education staff and administration working with academically vulnerable populations and for the counseling community. Considerations for future research and limitations are also provided.

ABSTRACT: The use of simulated patients is a developing instructional strategy in physical therapy education (PTE) programs. However, it is unknown if using simulated patients during instruction yields better outcomes than the traditional use of peer role-play. This two-arm randomized, experimental design investigated the effect of type of simulation-based instruction, simulated patients compared to peer role-play, on clinical reasoning and confidence of students enrolled in an entry-level physical therapy education program learning patient transfer skills. Upon the conclusion of two instructional sessions, clinical reasoning was measured by the Think Aloud Standardized Patient Examination (TASPE) during a simulation experience. Student confidence in performing future acute care skills was measured by the Acute Care Confidence Survey (ACCS) following the simulation experience. Two independent-samples t-test demonstrated that there was not a statistically significant difference in the students’ TASPE scores or the ACCS scores based on the type of simulation-based instruction. This study provides evidence that peer role-play can be just as effective in improving physical therapist student clinical reasoning and confidence outcomes compared to using simulated patients when instructing patient transfer skills. Although the use of simulated patients may appear to promote deeper learning by portraying a more real scenario for practicing patient care skills, it is no more advantageous than peer-role-play in terms of physical therapist students’ clinical reasoning and confidence skills when learning patient transfer skills.

Meghan Pfeiffer

EXPLORATION OF THE EXPERIENCES OF SELF-IDENTIFIED LESBIAN DIVISION I STUDENT-ATHLETES IN THE UNITED STATES

ABSTRACT: In the world of Division I intercollegiate athletics, much remains to be understood about lesbian student-athletes’ experiences, educational practices, and conditions that promote their development. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the academic and sport experiences of self-identified lesbian Division I student-athletes in the United States. In addition, the study aimed to understand how resources and strategies used by lesbian Division I student-athletes helped to establish or increase the level of comfortability and inclusivity within both environments. The research questions that guided this study were: 1) How do self-identified lesbian Division I student-athletes experience their higher education academic environment? 2) How do self-identified lesbian Division I student-athletes experience their sport environment? 3) How do resources and strategies used by self-identified lesbian Division I student-athletes help to establish or increase the level of comfortability and inclusivity within academic and sport environments? The underlying theoretical frameworks used in this study were interpretivism and phenomenology due to the study’s nature of understanding how participants experienced their academic and sport environments as lesbian Division I student-athletes. Data were gathered through semi-structured phenomenological interviews and document analysis then analyzed using open coding and thematic analysis in order to most accurately capture the essence of the participants’ academic and sport experiences. Three themes emerged from data analysis: 1) Self-Acceptance: Background of Support; 2) Visibility of the LGBTQ Community; and 3) Sense of Belonging. These themes encapsulated the full range of experiences in academic (i.e., interactions with faculty members, students, and experiences in the classroom and on campus) and sport (i.e., interactions with teammates, coaches, administrators, and experiences during team and athletic-related events) environments as well as resources and strategies used to establish or increase the level of comfortability and inclusivity within both environments. The experiences of the participants provided implications for practice so as to further establish and sustain environments of acceptance and respect so inclusion is the norm, not the exception. These recommendations for resource development continues the aim to make Division I intercollegiate athletics a growingly accepting and respectful place for lesbian student-athletes to thrive academically and athletically.

Michelle Bowen

EFFECT OF VIRTUAL REALITY ON MOTIVATION AND ACHIEVEMENT OF MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS

ABSTRACT: The introduction of low-cost hand-held devices has enabled K-12 teachers the opportunity to teach using virtual reality(VR); however, the efficacy of VR in K-12 classrooms for teaching and learning has not been established. Thus, the purpose of this quasi-experimental study was to examine the influence of virtual reality field trips on middle school students’ social studies academic achievement and motivation. Participants included 74 seventh grade students at two middle schools, who participated in social studies instruction using either the traditional lecture method or a virtual reality system. The virtual reality system used in this study was the Google Expeditions Virtual Reality System using smartphone technology and iBlue viewfinders. Before and after instruction was provided, participants were assessed using the Instructional Materials Motivation Survey (IMMS) and teacher created assessments. The results of the two one-way ANCOVAs demonstrated that students who used virtual reality scored significantly higher than students participating in traditional instruction on both their academic achievement and motivation. These findings provide support for the use of virtual reality in middle school social study classrooms.

Anna Flynt

ABSTRACT: The purpose of this quantitative, predictive correlational study was to examine variables that are correlated with Tennessee K-12 English as a second language teachers’ self-efficacy. With the changes stipulated by the Every Student Succeeds Act recently approved by the Tennessee Department of Education, there is a need to examine possible factors associated with ESL teachers’ self-efficacy because teacher self-efficacy has been linked to teacher effectiveness and, in turn, student learning. Using social cognitive theory as a framework, predictor variables were identified and included route to licensure, practicum hours, presence of mentor, years of teaching experience prior to ESL, years of experience of ESL teaching, and number of ESL teachers at participants’ schools. A self-report survey including the validated Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy Scale was sent to the participants using the Tennessee Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages membership listserv. The data collected from the convenience sample was analyzed using standard multiple regression. The six predictor variables were found not to be predictive of Tennessee ESL teachers’ self-efficacy and the overall standard multiple regression indicated negligible predictive value. The conclusion drawn from this study is that Tennessee, and perhaps other ESL teachers in the United States, are a unique population of teachers who have other factors specific to their field of teaching that can be predictive of their self-efficacy. Among the possibilities for future research, the author especially recommends the investigation of American ESL teachers’ self-efficacy through qualitative methods so data can be collected to identify possible self-efficacy factors directly from the population.

Eric Suedmeyer

for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy

February 19, 2018 at 10:30 am in 103 Ball Hall

Major Advisor: Douglas Strohmer, PhD

Development of the Career Resilience Scale for Adults with Disabilities

ABSTRACT: Adults with disabilities face multiple internal, social, and systemic barriers that hamper efforts to attain and maintain meaningful employment. In order to achieve success in vocational pursuits, individuals with disabilities must demonstrate perseverance in the face of probable adversity; this construct is career resilience. Unfortunately, no scale has been developed to measure a person’s career resilience that is specifically tailored to assess one’s ability to rebound from career stressors related to one’s disability. The purpose of this study is to develop an instrument to measure the career resilience of adults with disabilities. After creating the Career Resilience for Adults with Disabilities Scale (CRADS) the author used two samples of 169 and 129 adults with disabilities to examine its psychometric characteristics and finalize the scale’s structure and content. Results indicated the CRADS is a reliable measure with a three-subscale factor structure. Differences in CRADS scores were found between adults with disabilities who were currently employed and those unemployed and not actively looking for work.

Amy Hall

Effect of a case-based online discussion forum on resident professionalism knowledge and skills

ABSTRACT: Teaching professionalism in graduate medical education is required by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. Program directors face several challenges in developing and implementing methods to effectively teach professionalism. However, the benefits of implementing an effective method can lead to improved resident performance and knowledge, patient care outcomes, and teamwork interactions. A research proposal was developed to investigate the effects of a professionalism traditional lecture versus a professionalism traditional lecture and a case-based online discussion forum on residents’ professionalism skills as measured by the Professionalism Mini-Evaluation Exercise (P-MEX) and professionalism knowledge as measured by a posttest, while controlling for postgraduate year level and program. Residents from ACGME accredited Diagnostic Radiology and Family Medicine residency programs at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center served as participants in a posttest only control group experiment. Participants will be randomly assigned to a control (e.g. traditional lecture) and experimental group (e.g. traditional lecture and a case-based, online discussion forum). After the lecture, the experimental group will participate in a four-week case-based, online discussion forum. Weekly discussions will be centered around case-based scenarios that highlight unprofessional behavior and encourage reflective discourse amongst the participants. Afterwards, professionalism skills will be assessed via the P-MEX and knowledge base will be assessed via a posttest. An analysis of variance (ANOVA) was identified to determine the level of difference between the control and experimental groups’ professionalism skills and knowledge assessment results. The results for both the P-MEX and the posttest were not normally distributed as assessed by the Shapiro Wilks test. Since the ANOVA is robust when minor deviations to the normality assumption, it was used to assess the results along with the Kruskal-Wallis H Test acting in a supporting role. Both statistical tests revealed no statistically significant differences between the control and experimental groups P-MEX and posttest scores. The results indicate that the case-based online discussion forum had little to no effect on residents’ professionalism knowledge or skill levels.

Sandra Smith

An Analysis of the Relationship between Teacher Perception of Community Support and Involvement at Their School and Student Rates of Attendance, Graduation, and Academic Proficiency

ABSTRACT: The purpose of this study was to explore the relationships between educators’ perceptions of the quality of community support and involvement at their high schools and five longitudinally measured indices of school effectiveness. Given a sample of 248 Tennessee high schools, secondary data derived from the “Community Support and Involvement” subsection of the Teaching, Empowering, Leading, and Learning (TELL) Questionnaire Survey administered in 2013 were merged with concurrent student attendance, student graduation, and student achievement outcomes archived and made publicly available on the Tennessee Department of Education website. After controlling for the impact of student and faculty demographic variables, hierarchical multiple regression analyses indicated the perceived influence of parent and community support and involvement to be both systematically statistically significant and uniformly positive with respect to the study’s five outcomes of interest, all of which were averaged over three years. More specifically, perceived levels of community support and involvement were observed to explain some 3.5% of the variance in schools’ attendance rate ( = 0.22, t = 3.65, p < 001) and about 1.8% of the variance in schools’ graduation rate (b = 0.15, t = 2.78, p = 006). As regards student achievement, perceived levels of community support and involvement were observed to explain 2.0% of the variance in schools’ ACT Composite scores (b = 0.16, t = 4.67, p < .001); 5.2% of the variance in schools’ percentage of students proficient in Algebra I (b = 0.21, t = 3.62, p < .001); and 1.5% of the variance in English II (b = 0.14, t = 4.19, p < .000).